Overview

  • Accepting applications

Duties

Summary

This Regional Soil Health Specialist (RSHS) position is on the NRCS National Soil Health Division (SHD) Staff in the Science and Technology Deputy Area. SHD is responsible for providing leadership on agency soil health policies, tools, practice standards, assessments, programs, technology, training, and approaches used by staff, partners, and customers to facilitate successful implementation of soil health management systems.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Serves as a point of contact for assistance to selected states to address regional and national soil health related priorities and needs and to facilitate successful implementation of soil health management systems by the entire agency.
  • Leads soil health strategies and priorities by providing training and technical assistance to NRCS personnel
  • Investigates, analyzes and evaluates highly complex problems and situations involving a wide variety of novel soil health circumstances and/or highly unusual conditions.
  • Serves as a Regional support leader for Soil Health activities associated with all agricultural land uses.
  • Works with all members of the Soil Health Division to provide national soil health guidance, direction, and technical support.
  • Contributes to Soil Health Division and interdisciplinary technical development of soil health related training materials, documents, assessment procedures, technical policy and outreach.
  • The incumbent works on interdisciplinary teams, across NRCS Science and Technology Deputy Area and other Deputy areas to incorporate soil health science, technology, benefits and activities into soil health management systems activities and programs.
  • Works closely with members of other agencies, land grant universities and the private sector to identify and address major issues.
  • Collaborates on identifying applied soil health science and technology gaps and integration opportunities for assessment and production system implementation regionally and nationally.
  • Collaborates to develop and integrate new soil health technologies into soil health related practice standards, tools, technical guidance and planning and implementation of management systems for regional or national application.
  • Represents NRCS as a recognized soil health expert and advisor for the purpose of explaining soil health opportunities and to encourage cooperative efforts and continuity of message in solving natural resource concerns and problems.
  • Coordinates with State NRCS personnel in providing leadership and technical assistance to customers, conservation partners, and other interested parties on state-of-the-art soil health strategies, tools, practices, systems, and methodologies.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator’s license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the 05/31/2021 the of the announcement.

This is an interdisciplinary position description and may be filled in any of the following occupations/series; Rangeland Management Specialist (0454), Soil Conservationist (0457), Soil Scientist (0470), Agronomist (0471).

Basic Qualifications for the Rangeland Management Specialist series 0454: Must have a bachelor’s degree or higher in range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows:
Range Management – At least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning;
Directly Related to Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences – At least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific area, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plan taxonomy, plant physiology, plan ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable;
Related Resource Management Studies – At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including course in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resources or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management.

OR

Must have completed a combination of education and experience that included at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Qualifications for the Soil Conservationist series 0457: Must have a bachelor’s or higher degree in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. The study must have included 30 semester hours in a natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.

OR

Must have a combination of education and experience that included at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience that included the application of techniques, principles, and methods from a variety of agricultural and natural resource fields or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.

Basic Qualifications for the Soil Scientist series 0470: Must have a bachelor’s degree or higher in soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth science, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility.

OR

Must have a combination of education and experience that included courses equivalent to a major, in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least 15 of these semester hours must have been in the areas specified above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Qualifications for the Agronomist series 0471: Must possess a Bachelor’s or higher degree in agronomy; or related discipline of science that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in the basic plant sciences, including at least 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, such as those dealing with plant breeding, crop production, and soil and crop management.

OR

Must possess a combination of education and experience: At least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, including a minimum of 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.

In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying:

GS-12

Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service that included:

  • Providing leadership and technical assistance to landowners, conservation partners, and other interested parties in all phases of Soil Health Management Systems;
  • Delivering soil health training and soil health science and technology technical support to personnel, partners, and customers; and
  • Collaborating on interdisciplinary teams along with partners, and producers to incorporate soil health science, technology, benefits and activities into soil health management systems activities and programs.

GS-13

Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service that included:

  • Leading soil health strategies and priorities by providing technical assistance to personnel and providing leadership and technical assistance to landowners, conservation partners, and other interested parties in all phases of Soil Health Management Systems;
  • Developing and delivering soil health training and soil health science and technology technical support to personnel, partners, and customers; and
  • Collaborating on interdisciplinary teams along with partners and producers to incorporate soil health science, technology, benefits and activities into soil health management systems activities and programs.

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html